Stutter
by YourImpossibleGirl
Summary: Despite everything that had happened, he still had hope that they would be okay. After all, she was still the only person to ever make him stutter. Damon POV, reflection post 3x22.


**Inspiration from 'Stutter' by Maroon5. Enjoy!**

Stutter

If he was being completely honest with himself, a rare occurrence in his very long life, he had never had the intention to kill Elena Gilbert. Sure he liked to hurt her, it was too tempting not too, hurting her hurt his brother and Stefan had been promised an eternity of misery which he was very keen on delivering. So he carried on with how he was living, doing what he wanted without caring about the consequences, always focused on freeing Katherine, his supposed true love.

Then that day came, the tomb was opened and Katherine was missing. That was the first time he felt something more than unintentional friendship towards his brothers girl. Standing in the cold night, Katherine's betrayal fresh in his mind, he couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him when Elena wrapped her small arms around him, pulling him close. And although he didn't reciprocate the embrace, he knew that that shudder wasn't from the cold, or the betrayal, but from the sparks that ignited under his skin when she held him.

Later that night when no one was around, he found her sitting in the boarding house parlor, writing intently in her diary about all that had transpired in the past few days. He got his drink and sat next to her, not looking ask he weakly stuttered out a thank you and downed the bourbon he had just poured.

From that day on he found himself protecting Elena more than hurting her, teasing and mocking her out of friendship rather than cruelty. No one else seemed to notice the change, or if they did they didn't care, after all, he, Damon Salvatore, was a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities, which pretty much meant that there was no way he could feel something for the beautiful brunette. And slowly their friendship developed, much to the disapproval of her friends and family. He loved learning secret little things about her- things that his saintly brother had never bothered to find out, like that she dreamed of living in France or that she loved the smell of rain and the sound of a thunderstorm. He particularly liked that last one, especially when she revealed that such storms reminded her of him, dark and threatening yet somehow comforting. He spent hours after that conversation wondering how exactly he was comforting, that was something he had never been called in his lifetime. But Elena didn't lie, so he was quite happy to take the compliment (with a sly smirk and a snarky comment of course) and run with it.

Somewhere in between these pointless conversations, their witty banter and the countless times he saved her life, he found himself thinking about her as more than a friend or something he could win from his brother. He found himself making excuses for being around her or going to see her, picking her up from school on random days, something that became so routine she stopped driving her own car, or showing up in the middle of a sleepless night with a movie and a suggestive grin.

If you asked, he could tell you the exact moment he realized he loved her. Actually truly loved her, not cared about her or wanted to sleep with her, but really truly wanted -her -forever, always- by -his -side, risk- heaven- and- hell -for -her kind of love.

_Flashback_

_He was lying in bed, not sleeping, just lying there, staring at the ceiling like it contained all the answers to every single one of life's many questions, when he heard hesitant footsteps shuffling along the hall. He knew instantly who they belonged to; he had long ago memorized everything to do with her- her heartbeat, her breathing and her footsteps. He laid still and listened as her footsteps paused outside his door, and heard the shifting of clothing as she raised her arm to knock quietly. He was across the room and had the door swung open before he could even process what he was doing, and came face to face with a wide-eyed Elena, clad in a very tight long sleeved pajama top and deliciously short matching bottoms._

"_Elena, what brings you to my humble abode tonight, feeling a little naughty?" he smirked and did that eye-thing he knew she loved (even if she often said otherwise). The girl in question rolled her eyes at the jab but smiled embarrassedly, bringing her arm from around her back and holding out a DVD case._

"_I couldn't sleep" she mumbled, her cheeks flushing red._

"_Hmmm? What was that Elena?" he questioned, even though he knew what she said, but unable to resist the opportunity to tease her. Elena huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, a move that brought his attention to her ample cleavage. _

"_I know you heard what I said Damon! I couldn't sleep and you always seem to pop up with a movie when that's your problem so here I am!" she said, frustration clear in her tone._

_He let her in with a few more well placed jabs and 10 minutes later they were situated on his bed, side by side but not quite touching, the beginning credits of 'Gone with the Wind' playing on the plasma screen in front of them. Halfway through the epic film, he heard Elena's breath started to even out and felt her head drop onto his shoulder, in what had to be an uncomfortable position. He started to move out of the bed, knowing that despite being friends, she most probably didn't want him beside her while she slept. But just as he was about to move, she reached out and held his arm tightly, muttering a simple 'Stay', before weakly tugging him back towards her._

"_Are you sure Elena" he said, even though he settled into his sheets._

"_Mhmm" the girl next to him murmured "No nightmares with you… make me feel safe… stay please" he knew that she was already pretty much asleep and probably had no idea what she was saying, but that didn't stop his undead heart from skipping and unneeded beat at those words, and looking down at her sleeping face, now resting securely on his chest, he knew that the strange tugging in his chest wasn't him having the heart attack that could never happen, it was a sign that his feelings for her had changed into something that neither of them would be willing to admit._

"_G- Good night 'Lena" he whispered quietly, glad that she couldn't hear him tripping over such simple words._

_End Flashback_

Of course when they awoke in the morning, curled around each other like lovers, they both ignored what had happened the night before, the words and the feelings that had been said and discovered in the comforting veil of the night. And Damon, sure that those feeling were temporary or imagined or in some other way not true, buried them and concentrated on staying her friend.

Of course those feelings didn't fade with time, in fact they became unbearably strong, and so he took the cowards way out and told her before compelling her to forget the conversation ever happened.

Looking back on it all now, as he sat in the cold morgue, his hand grasped tightly in her, although she was too busy being temporarily dead to return the gesture, he wouldn't change a single part of their twisty little journey. When she awoke, dazed, confused and more than a little freaked out, his name the only thing that passed through her lips before she threw herself into his arms and clung to him tightly, the only thing he was able to do was stutter a relieved 'E-Elena'.

Despite her rejection just an hour earlier, he knew that things wouldn't be the same now that she had awoken, and he still had his chance with the girl he loved more than life itself. It might not be today, or tomorrow, or even this year, but they had forever now. And she was still the only person to ever make him stutter.

**And that's a wrap folks Not entirely sure if I'm completely happy with how it turned out, but it's the best that is going happen at 1:33am. Please review, I love to hear your thoughts **

**Alexis**


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